


Culture Shock

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic [37]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Culture Shock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s03e10-e11 The Return, Friendship, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 16:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6122503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LJ Comment Fic for Free For All prompt: <i>any. any. terror</i></p><p>In which Rodney suffers a panic attack in the middle of DC rush hour traffic, and John comes to his rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Culture Shock

Rodney knew terror. Terror was an old, unwelcome friend thanks to life in the Pegasus galaxy. He’d been tortured, shot, nearly sucked dry by Wraith, drugged, almost blown up…the list was depressingly long. 

He knew that icy grip of terror when someone he cared about was in the middle of yet another heroic but suicidal gambit to save all their lives.

He’d experienced the terror of running for his life on some distant, strange planet and never knowing if he was going to make it to the Gate, or if a bullet or an arrow would catch him in the back.

But this. This was something new, and unexpected.

This was Rodney in his car, hands wrapped around the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. Traffic was streaming around him, though the incessant horn blaring had stopped, but his foot was frozen on the brake pedal. His whole body was frozen.

He must’ve been crazy, trying to navigate D.C. traffic so soon.

In the periphery of his vision, Rodney could see the flashing lights of the cop car pulled off on the shoulder. The officer had attempted to get Rodney to pull over and out of the flow of traffic, but Rodney hadn’t even been able to unlock his jaw so he could explain.

But what would he even say? That he was sorry, but he was out of the habit of driving a car? That he thought he’d been doing okay until rush hour started? That he was more comfortable in a different galaxy, battling space vampires, than he was on Earth?

Rodney didn’t remember it being so loud. Or crowded. It had taken him over an hour to buy one bag of groceries at the store the other day because he’d been overwhelmed by the choices. He was always reaching for an earpiece that wasn’t there.

He wanted to go home.

The cop put flares around Rodney’s car, which was when the honking had stopped. He’d tried to talk to Rodney, tried to pull his hands off the wheel. Rodney had no idea what he’d been up to since then. He didn’t even know how long he’d been sitting there.

And then the passenger door opened and John slid into the front seat.

“Hey, buddy. What’s going on?”

Some of the tension bled out of Rodney, and he was able to open his mouth. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

God, but it was good to hear John’s voice. They talked on the phone, sure, but it wasn’t the same. Nothing was the same, and fuck the Asurans for messing up the best thing in Rodney’s life.

“Rodney. Talk to me.”

“There was traffic.”

“Right.” John reached over and put one of his hands over Rodney’s, thumb rubbing across Rodney’s knuckles. “You’re lucky, you know. If the cop hadn’t recognized the SGC seal on the window he might’ve carted you off to a psych hospital.”

Rodney turned his head, neck stiff, and looked at John. He was wearing green fatigues, which just looked all kinds of wrong, but the familiar expression of concern and bemusement was such a relief it left Rodney a little shaky. There was a lot he wanted to say: how much he missed John, how he’d driven straight through from Nevada when he heard that John had been called to meet with the president, because that could only be a bad thing.

“I hate it here,” he said instead.

John nodded. “I know.”

“I want to go home.” Rodney was mortified to hear the break in his voice. 

“How about we start small and go over there.” John gestured at the side of the road with his thumb. “It would make Officer Sefton a lot happier.”

“Oh. Right.” Rodney checked his mirrors. Checked them again. “Do you think if the Wraith were ever out of the picture, someone in Pegasus would invent the combustion engine?”

“Rodney.”

“I’m going,” he said testily. He managed to pull the car over without incident. “Now what?”

“Now we’ll hang out until you’re feeling better. And then you can tell me why the hell you drove all the way out here.”

John was using his stern military commander voice, but he was still holding Rodney’s hand and looking at him with that half smile on his face. Rodney tentatively slotted their fingers together and waited to see how John would react; all he did was squeeze Rodney’s hand.

Maybe home wasn’t so far away.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** All the thanks to nagi_schwarz for the extra inspiration regarding the culture shock idea. I blatantly stole the grocery shopping thing from her. Thank you, nagi!


End file.
